London-City-Bond-Barking-warehouse

Warehousing and distribution firm London City Bond, which specialises in storing and distributing wine, beers and spirits, has seen trade pick up this month as its customers prepare for the easing of the pandemic lockdown.

Reporting its annual results to 30 September 2019 this week the company revealed that last year’s Brexit uncertainty had boosted its turnover by £5m, to ££45.9m (2018: £40.9m).

Pre-tax profit fell in the period to £733,821 (2018: £771,592) as the company continued to invest in opening new warehouses at Leeds and Burton, with a third warehouse opened at West Thurrock after year end.

In its strategic report to the results, the company had warned that the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic could see it make a loss in 2020.

However sales director David Hogg told motortransport.co.uk this week that the company is now hopeful that those predicted losses will be averted, as the government moves to ease the pandemic lockdown and allow pubs, bars and restaurants to open from 4 July.

He added: “It is a major step in the right direction. Earlier in the lockdown it was looking pretty bleak. We are still looking at possibly making a loss and we are not at the break-even stage yet - but sales are much better than expected this month, so we are hopeful we can turn this around.”

The company uses a mix of third party logistics partners and owner drivers who work exclusively for the firm. It has 300 trucks making deliveries each day to a range of customers including pubs, restaurants, supermarkets, wine merchants and private individuals. During the Christmas period the company makes over 23,000 deliveries a week.

Hogg said the company had cut back on its overnight trunking services during the pandemic, from 24-hour to 48-hour deliveries but added that it is “very much business as usual” with some customers maintaining sales by switching to home delivery and takeaway and supermarkets seeing sales of alcohol boosted during the lockdown.

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